No Way Back
by pryingeyes
Summary: The shooting changed the lives of everyone at Degrassi. What if things had happened differently? Take a look into an altered world, where darkness takes over. For two people, their lives will be forever changed because of that day - for better or worse.
1. Suddenly Everything Has Changed

**AN**: So this is my first Degrassi fic and I wanted to write a different take on the school shooting. I hope you enjoy.

Disclaimer: I don't own Degrassi. Hell I'm not even Canadian.

_Summary: The shooting changed the lives of everyone at Degrassi. What would have happened if things had occured differently. For two people, their lives will be forever changed because of that day - for better or worse._

There are some moments in your life that takes it all. A fleeting instant where a split second changes everything. For Emma Nelson, that day was here.

As she stared at the barrel of the gun in Rick's hand, Emma could only think of all the things she never got to do. She never got to tell her parents how much she loved them. She never got to get out of Canada. Most important, Emma never got to really experience life.

"Congratulations Emma, you made my list," Rick said with a wry smile.

Emma grabbed Toby's arm in fear. Sean tried to pull them out of the hall and away from Rick.

"Don't, don't you walk away from me!" Rick yelled his hand shaking.

Emma jumped at the sound of Rick's voice backing away by instinct.

"You don't have to do this Rick," Sean said pushing Emma behind him.

"Yeah? What do you know about it?"

"I know you're feeling angry and misunderstood," Sean told Rick as he inched his way closer.

Rick shook his head and clutched the gun tighter.

"You don't what it's like to wake up everyday and feel like a failure. You don't know what it's like to feel worthless."

"I'd know more about that than you think." Sean said to Rick.

"Just put the gun down Rick, it doesn't have to be like this," Toby cries out.

"You're wrong, it's the only way. They'll never learn if they aren't punished Toby," Rick pointed his gun at Emma.

"I'm sorry Emma, it's the only way"

Sean ran at Rick and tackled him. A loud bang could be heard echoing through the hall. Sean and Rick wrestled till finally Sean knocked Rick out. He stood up and kicked the gun away from Rick. Sean turned and walked back towards Toby and Emma only to stop in his tracks.

"Emma," Sean whispered.

Toby knelt over Emma's body with his hand over her stomach surrounded by blood. He looked at Sean, his eyes wide with fear. Sean knelt next to Toby and reached a trembling hand to her face.

"Emma," Sean whispered again. When he didn't get a response he shoved Toby out of the way and felt her neck for a pulse. He could feel a faint beating but it was quickly fading.

"Toby, go run and find help. Hurry up!" Sean yelled.

"Come on Emma. Wake up. You have to wake up." Sean whispered his voice cracking with emotion.

Sean brushed her hair back and ran his hand across her cheek. He searched her face for any signs of consciousness. Tears began to fall when Emma did not move.

"Please Emma. Just open those beautiful eyes so I can know you're alright. It can't end like this." Sean cried as he looked down at her.

Sean cradled her in his arms rocking her back and forth. He set her back on the ground and felt for her pulse again. He noticed it was much fainter than before. He looked back to see if Toby had found help yet. When he turned back he came face to face with Emma, her eyes looking into his.

Emma smiled up at him and whispered, "Sean"

"Hey, hey don't talk. Toby went to get help. Don't worry you're going to be fine," Sean smiled back at Emma.

Emma nodded her head and leaned against Sean. She went to say something but began coughing and blood began to trickle down her mouth. She gave one final cough before she collapsed against Sean.

"Emma!" Sean yelled out.

He pressed his ear against her chest and listened for a heartbeat. When he couldn't hear any he began to scream for help.

Just as Sean was yelling Toby and a group of paramedics turned the corner. They ran over to Sean and Emma and began to put Emma on a stretcher. The paramedics wheeled her out of the school with Sean trailing behind. They loaded her into the ambulance truck and climbed in.

"Can I ride with her?" Sean asked one of the paramedics.

The paramedics looked at each other and back at Sean. They nodded at one another realizing he obviously cared deeply for this girl.

"Alright son, let's go"

Sean climbed into the truck and went to sit next to Emma. He took her hand into his hands as the ambulance sped off the campus. He ran his thumb over her knuckles and brushed the hair from her face.

"Just hold on Emma. We're almost there," Sean whispered to her.

Sean felt the tears sliding down his face. He knew Emma was in bad shape and couldn't help but wonder if she would make it. Sean was never much for praying but at that moment he prayed to every higher power that Emma would be alright.

When he had seen the blood pouring out of her stomach he felt as if someone had ripped his heart out. He realized that Emma meant a lot more to him than he thought. He knew now that he couldn't live without her. He just hoped he got the chance to tell her that.

**Okay so there you go. I just wanted to write something that could have easily happened had things been a little different. I hope whoever read this enjoyed it. I'll try to update as often as possible. If you feel like leaving me a review, well who am i to argue. :)**


	2. God Bless The Child

**Okay so I know it has been a while and i'm sorry i haven't updated but i've been really busy. I hope that there are still people who are willing to read this story. I actually had most of this chapter written a while ago but my laptop's hard disk erased everything! This chapter is actually really different than the one that I had previously written. I hope you guys enjoy it though. I really liked writing it.**

**Oh and thanks to everyone who reviewed, I really appreciated it.**

Seventeen minutes, that's how long the ride to the hospital took. For Sean it felt like a lifetime. He held Emma's hand the entire ride hoping that she could feel a sense of comfort in it.

Sean had tried to follow the paramedics into the room Emma was being brought, but he was stopped by a nurse.

"I'm sorry but you can't go back there, they have to operate"

Sean nodded his hand in understanding even though the last thing he wanted to do was sit and wait around to find out whether Emma lived or died.

Sean took a seat in the waiting room next to a little girl who was drawing. She looked up at him with large innocent eyes and smiled.

"Hi my name's Lily. What's yours?" she asked him.

"Sean," he replied with a small smile.

"What are you drawing Lily," Sean asked.

"A picture of me and my mommy," Lily said holding up the drawing. Sean smiled at the sight of the stick figures that apparently represented the little girl and her mother.

Sean looked around for the little girl's parents but couldn't see any one nearby.

"Where is your mommy and daddy Lily?" Sean asked

Lily's eyes turned sad and she fiddled with her fingers in her lap before answering Sean.

"I don't have a daddy, he left. My mommy is behind those doors though. She ate too much of her special candy."

Sean squinted and realized that the special candy must be some kind of drug. He looked down at the little girl and felt a wave of sadness wash over him.

"Why are you here?" Lily asked him.

Sean closed his eyes, recalling what had happened only moments ago. He could still hear the gunshot ringing in his ears.

"Someone I care for a lot is hurt and the doctors are trying to heal her" Sean said, his voice full of emotion

"Is she hurt like my mommy?" Lily asked curiously

"It's a little bit different"

"Well they're gonna heal my mommy so they'll heal your friend too." Lily said with a nod of her head.

Sean smiled sadly at the little girl, wishing he could have her innocence.

"I hope you're right Lily,"

"Sean!"

Sean turned at the sound of his name and saw Snake and Spike rushing towards him.

Spike engulfed him in a tight hug with tears running down her face.

"Where's Emma?" Snake asked as Sean patted Spike's back awkwardly. After a moment she finally let go and looked at Sean waiting for his answer.

"She's in the operating room, I haven't heard anything."

Spike nodded and walked over to the nurse's desk to see if she could find out anything.

Snake looked at Sean for a moment before embracing him in a stiff, manly hug. He quickly released him with an awkward cough.

"Toby told us what you did, stopping Rick. Well, we really appreciate it."

"I didn't do anything, Emma still got shot." Sean said bitterly.

"I could have tried talking him out of it, but I tackled him instead. It's my fault Emma's lying in that room right now!" Sean yelled angrily.

"Sean you did everything you could. If you hadn't gone after Rick who knows how many times he would have shot Emma or you and Toby."

"I should have gotten to him faster, I should have stopped him"

"You couldn't have done anything else. There was a darkness inside of Rick that no one could have seen coming. There was nothing you could do to stop it." Snake said laying his hand on Sean's shoulder.

"NO, I could have… I…god I'm so sorry Snake" Sean said sobs taking over his body.

Snake pulled Sean into a hug patting his back in comfort.

"Shh, it's okay. It's gonna be okay."

Spike walked over and touched Snake's shoulder, getting his attention. Snake pulled away from Sean and focused his attention on Spike.

"The nurse told me that Emma is still in surgery and that the doctor would inform us as soon as she is done"

"So we just sit here and wait?" Snake said annoyed.

"That's all we can do," Spike replied sadly.

Sean turned back remembering the little girl he had been talking to earlier. His eyes searched the room but found no sign of her. His eyebrows squinted in confusion wondering where she could have gone.

His eyes caught sight of something on the seat where Lily had been. He walked over and recognized it as the drawing she had been working on. He looked at it and noticed that there were now four stick figures.

Under each figure was a name: Lily, Mommy, Sean, and Sean's friend. Above the figures stood a single word. Healed. For the first time, Sean felt hope.

**Alright well that's it, the second chapter. It's a little corny i know but I hope those who read it, enjoyed. Even if you didn't that's cool. Just leave me a review and tell me what you thought. Thanks as always -Mals**


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